88
50.31%
Wins 50.08%, ties 0.45%
JTs
49.69%
Wins 49.47%, ties 0.45%
88 against JTs: the numbers
| Hand | Wins | Ties | Loses | Equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 50.081 | 0.454 | 49.465 | 50.308 |
| JTs | 49.465 | 0.454 | 50.081 | 49.692 |
One side is a pocket pair, the other is a suited hand. One hand holds a pair and the other holds two cards that both outrank it, which keeps the equity closer than most people expect.
This is close to even money, with 88 a little ahead. Ties are part of the picture: 0.45% of boards end in a split pot, and each side counts that as half a win.
In the ranking of all 169 starting hands, 88 is number 7 and JTs is number 45.
| Hand | Boards won, about | Boards tied, about | Boards lost, about |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 20,581,000 | 187,000 | 20,328,000 |
| JTs | 20,328,000 | 187,000 | 20,581,000 |
The total is exact: 24 specific deals times 1,712,304 boards. The three counts are approximate, worked out from the percentages to five decimals and rounded to the nearest thousand.
| Hand | Equity as odds (to 1) | Wins one deal in | Loses one deal in | Pot odds needed to call (to 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | 1.012 | 1.997 | 2.022 | 0.988 |
| JTs | 0.988 | 2.022 | 1.997 | 1.012 |
In the last column, a pot-to-call ratio at or above the figure makes a call break even or better at this equity.
Who is ahead on which flops
Split by what the flop looks like, 88 peaks at 74.59% on low rainbow flops (nine high or lower) and bottoms out at 43.75% on rainbow flops topped by a ten or better. On rainbow flops topped by a ten or better, two-tone flops and monotone flops the numbers flip and JTs is the one ahead.
| Flop | Share of flops | 88 wins | Ties | JTs wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow, ten or higher | 24.595 | 43.633 | 0.229 | 56.138 | 43.747 |
| Rainbow, nine or lower | 6.314 | 74.264 | 0.653 | 25.083 | 74.591 |
| Two-tone | 46.545 | 47.898 | 0.296 | 51.806 | 48.046 |
| Monotone | 5.212 | 48.476 | 2.404 | 49.120 | 49.678 |
| Paired | 17.334 | 56.769 | 0.536 | 42.695 | 57.037 |
A rainbow flop shows three suits, a two-tone flop repeats one suit, a monotone flop is a single suit, and a paired flop repeats a rank.
Compared with a random hand
A random hand would give 88 69.16% and JTs 57.53%. Against each other the change is -18.85 points for 88 and -7.84 for JTs.
| Case | Equity here | Against a random hand | Change in points | Times the random-hand equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88, all flops | 50.308 | 69.163 | -18.855 | 0.72738 |
| 88, rainbow, ten or higher | 43.747 | 69.163 | -25.416 | 0.63252 |
| 88, rainbow, nine or lower | 74.591 | 69.163 | +5.428 | 1.07848 |
| 88, two-tone | 48.046 | 69.163 | -21.117 | 0.69468 |
| 88, monotone | 49.678 | 69.163 | -19.485 | 0.71827 |
| 88, paired | 57.037 | 69.163 | -12.126 | 0.82468 |
| JTs, all flops | 49.692 | 57.528 | -7.836 | 0.86379 |
| JTs, rainbow, ten or higher | 56.253 | 57.528 | -1.275 | 0.97784 |
| JTs, rainbow, nine or lower | 25.409 | 57.528 | -32.119 | 0.44168 |
| JTs, two-tone | 51.954 | 57.528 | -5.574 | 0.90311 |
| JTs, monotone | 50.322 | 57.528 | -7.206 | 0.87474 |
| JTs, paired | 42.963 | 57.528 | -14.565 | 0.74682 |
Does a shared suit matter?
Of the deals of this matchup, 12 share a suit (88 at 50.42%) and 12 do not (50.20%). The two rows differ by only 0.22 points, so suits barely change this matchup.
| Deals | Specific deals | Share of deals | 88 wins | Ties | JTs wins | 88 equity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a suit | 12 | 50.00 | 50.168 | 0.495 | 49.337 | 50.415 |
| No shared suit | 12 | 50.00 | 49.995 | 0.412 | 49.593 | 50.201 |
How often this matchup comes up
Out of 1,624,350 ways to deal two seats two cards each, 24 are 88 in one seat and JTs in the other (0.0015%); with the seats swapped too, 48 (0.0030%).
A worked example
Put $100 each into a $200 pot and deal every board once: 88 averages $100.62 back, ahead of its $100 by $0.62, while JTs averages $99.38, short of its $100 by $0.62.
Per 1,000 deals: 88 wins about 501, JTs wins about 495, and about 4 end in a split pot.
The same matchup from the other side
Read it from the other side: JTs against 88 is the same matchup with the numbers swapped, so JTs holds 49.69% and 88 holds 50.31%. That address sends you back to this page.
Keep exploring
Open the calculator with 8s8h against JdTd already entered, a deal with no shared suit, and change any card to try your own hand. The matchups after it each swap one hand for a nearby one in the ranking.
How this was computed
This is an exact count with no sampling. For the 24 ways to deal one 88 and one JTs without reusing a card, grouped by suit pattern, every one of the 1,712,304 possible boards is dealt and both seven-card hands are compared. A tie counts as half a win in the equity column, and each board is counted once under each of its ten three-card flops.
Source: our own exact count from the GeorgeLiPoker poker math library. No outside data is used.
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